Cholesbury Hillfort, Grim's Ditch & The Ridgeway

START & FINISH: The hardstanding area by (A) Hawridge & Cholesbury Cricket Club, The Common, Cholesbury HP23 6ND. Grid ref: SP 932 071

(S/E) From the parking area, turn right along the road and cross over the turning to Wigginton and Tring. Continue past the village hall and turn left on a path just before The Old Rectory. Walk between the houses, go through the gate and follow the fence down to the bottom of the hill.

(1) Turn right between fences, and continue along the valley for 700m, ignoring paths to the left and right. After 2 fields the path passes behind houses. Go over a stile into a field, bear left across the middle, then over a further stile and three gates to the next field. Bear left over this field and through a gate to a lane.

(2) Turn right along the lane, walk past the first entrance to (B) DUNDRIDGE MANOR and turn left into the second one. Walk along the driveway for 170m. At the drawbridge on the left take the path directly opposite. Go through the gate and bear left slightly to follow the path across two fields and through two further gates to meet a concrete access road.

Go through the gate directly opposite and stay in the same general direction across another field and into a playing field. Continue ahead, passing through the gate opposite, across another field, through a further gate and then bear left slightly to arrive at the corner of the churchyard behind St Leonard’s Church. Pass through the gate to the left of the churchyard and turn right down the side to arrive at the main entrance to the church.

(3) Continue to the road junction and go directly over the stile in the hedgerow ahead. Cross the field, go under the overhead cables and through a gap in the hedgerow. Continue across the field for 70m to an unmarked path junction. Turn left to cross to the far side of the field and pass through a gate. Stay in the same direction across a paddock and go through a gate into the grounds of Coppice Farm Park. Cross the car park and follow the access road to a lane.

(4) Cross straight over and along Taylors Lane towards The Hale and, after 200m, take the path on the right just after Rowan House. Follow the path through a wood and then diagonally left across the field. Stay in this direction for 300m and look for a kissing gate to the left of the farm buildings.
Go through the gate, and the one opposite, and follow the path between fence and hedgerow to a stile. Cross it, and after a few metres meet The Ridgeway and turn right along it.

(5) After 150m, where the (C) Ridgeway descends to the left, continue ahead on a path through the trees, ignoring a path rising to the right. Where the path re-joins the Ridgeway at a deep hollow way, turn right uphill and stay on this path to a lane. Cross the lane, go through the gate opposite and continue ahead keeping to the left of the hedgerow for 250m. After the next gate, bear left across the field, heading for a further gate between the mast and the farm buildings, Go through it to a road junction.

(6) Turn left past the mast and right into Northill Wood (a signboard calls it Dancersend). Follow the Ridgeway for 500m to a major path junction.

(7) Turn right into a field and walk straight across it to drop down the bank of (D) GRIM’S DITCH onto a rough lane. Turn left along the lane, passing a row of houses after 250m, to reach a road junction after a further 250m.

(8) Turn left along the road and, after 40m, turn right into a field. Follow the hedgerow on the right and where it ends turn right along the edge of a wood into a field. Turn left along its edge to meet a wide, rough track. Turn right along the track for 600m to enter a wood (in a wildlife conservation area (E) HIGH SCRUBS). After 50m ignore a major path junction and continue ahead for a further 700m to the next junction which crosses the path after a field with horse jumps on the right.

(9) Turn right. Go through the gate into a field and stay on the left-hand edge past the next gate into a lane. Turn left and, after a few paces, right on a narrow path. Walk along the path for 250m.

(10) Turn left through a gate and stay on the field edge through two more gates into another wood. Keep straight ahead for 270m, passing through a gate, to arrive at the earthwork banks of (F) Cholesbury Hillfort.

(11) After exploring the fort, return to the same point and go over the opposite bank to an information board and gate. Pass through it into a field and straight across to Holy (Holly) Pond. (Turn right to visit the church). Go through a gate to the left of the pond and straight ahead through two more gates to a road by the village hall. Turn left along the road to return to the start.(S/E)

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START & FINISH: The hardstanding area by Hawridge & Cholesbury Cricket Club, The Common, Cholesbury HP23 6ND. Grid ref: SP 932 071.

TERRAIN: An easy walk on country paths and wide tracks. Numerous gates and nine stiles.

FOOD & DRINK: None on the walk, but The Full Moon pub is near the start.

PARKING: Hawridge & Cholesbury Cricket Club – see above (may be full at weekends during the cricket season); also in places along the edge of the common.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Buses 149 & 194 provide an occasional service between Chesham and Cholesbury/St Leonards on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

This walk was created with the help of John Gover, an active member of The Chess Valley Archaeological and Historical Society and a keen walker. In 2001 John carried out a geophysical survey of Cholesbury Hillfort which confirmed that the site had seen multiple occupations.

(A) CHOLESBURY & HAWRIDGE are two of four villages that make up the parish of Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards. The villages were established through gradual separation from Drayton Beauchamp and Marsworth-cum-Hawridge. The origin of the name ‘Cholesbury’ is Anglo-Saxon, and it was mentioned in the Domesday Book.

(B) DUNDRIDGE MANOR is a Grade II listed house. The earliest records are from a charter c1187 granting the manor to Missenden Abbey. At the time of the dissolution the manor passed to the Baldwin family until the house and lands had to be sold in lots. It was recorded as being in disrepair in 1769, but was later rebuilt. The original farmhouse has a number of 16th and 17th century alterations, and in the late 18th or early 19th century was encased in brickwork. One obvious feature is the ditch surrounding the house, which is believed to date from the 12th century.

(C) THE RIDGEWAY NATIONAL TRAIL starts in the World Heritage Site of Avebury and crosses the chalk ridges of the North Wessex Downs and Chilterns AONBs – a total of 87 miles. The Chilterns section travels through woodlands, nature reserves and quiet valleys, also passing several magnificent viewpoints along the Chilterns ridge. It follows a route used for at least 5,000 years by travellers, herdsmen and soldiers. Some people argue that it’s Britain’s oldest routeway, but this idea is generally out of favour today. For further information see www.nationaltrail.co.uk.

(D) GRIM’S DITCH – This major earthwork runs discontinuously from Bradenham to Berkhamstead/Potten End. It’s believed to be late Iron Age, c100 BC. Its purpose is uncertain. It may have been a boundary of the Catuvellauni tribe’s lands in the upper Chilterns, and/or a containment barrier for animals grazing in summer pastures. With an inner ditch and outer bank it’s unlikely to have had any defensive purpose.

(E) HIGH SCRUBS – Walking through these woods provides a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the relatively new science of Woodland Archaeology. The most obvious feature are the banks which were constructed to mark boundaries and create enclosures. Others could include saw pits for cutting wood, charcoal hearths, or chalk pits where the mineral was extracted for building materials or fertiliser.

(F) CHOLESBURY CAMP AND THE CHURCH – The Camp is believed to date from the mid-Iron Age, and is some 2,500 years old. One of the most visually impressive prehistoric settlements in the Chilterns, it’s oval shaped with a high surrounding bank and ditches, and covers c10 acres. The first excavation in 1932 found evidence of a kiln and iron smelting. A geophysical survey in 2001 revealed evidence of other possible smelting sites. The fort interior is believed to contain a small deserted medieval settlement close to the church. Also within the camp is Holy or Holly Pond, reputed to have supplied good, clean water even in the most severe droughts. The church of St Laurence was built in the 12th century and has an 18th century bell turret and roof. In the graveyard is a stone commemorating David Newton, a marine who fought at the Battle of Trafalgar.